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Difficulty: MediumTransatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

"Our plantations... are a double advantage to us; first, in that they take off our manufactures, and next, in that they supply us with such commodities as we must otherwise purchase from other nations... But this advantage is only so long as we keep them dependent on their mother country, and do not permit them to set up manufactures of their own, nor to trade directly with foreign states, which would make them our rivals."

— John Cary, English merchant, *An Essay on the State of England, Relation to its Trade*, 1695

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best explains how British colonists in North America responded to the trade restrictions described by Cary?

  1. Colonial merchants frequently participated in smuggling and illicit trade with other European empires.Answer
  2. B
    Colonial governments successfully petitioned the Crown to establish a system of free trade across the Atlantic.
  3. C
    Southern tobacco planters diversified their economies by establishing large-scale shipping and textile manufacturing.
  4. D
    Colonial merchants replaced chattel slavery with short-term indentured servitude to reduce transport costs.

Answer

Colonial merchants frequently participated in smuggling and illicit trade with other European empires.
The correct answer is correct because British colonists, particularly merchants in New England, routinely bypassed the Navigation Acts and other mercantilist restrictions by smuggling goods such as molasses, sugar, and manufactured goods to and from French, Dutch, and Spanish ports. This illicit trade allowed colonists to maintain high profits despite metropolitan efforts to monopolize colonial trade.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the provided stimulus to identify the core economic policy described.
The stimulus describes Cary's belief that colonies should remain dependent on their mother country, buy its manufactures, and not trade with other nations, which represents the policy of mercantilism.
Understanding the mercantilist context is necessary to evaluate colonial responses to these imperial trade restrictions.
2
Evaluate the options to identify how colonists historically responded to mercantilist regulations like the Navigation Acts.
British colonists regularly engaged in smuggling and illicit trade with foreign empires (such as the Dutch and French) to evade English regulations and maximize their own profits.
This aligns with the historical reality of salutary neglect and widespread colonial resistance to mercantilist enforcement.
3
Confirm the correct answer and rule out distractors based on historical accuracy and error patterns.
The option concerning smuggling is correct, while the others represent misunderstandings of mercantilist purposes, regional colonial economies, or colonial labor systems.
Ensures the selected answer is historically valid and matches the target concept.

Key Concept

Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism
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Topics

Transatlantic Trade and Mercantilism

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